THURSDAY REMINISCING

my sister married a guy
my brother brought home from high school
a real character, he played

hockey in 1954 at the ice arena
by the CBS building on mcclurg court
--before the stadium started selling out--
the old ice arena in what they call
today river north, his sister dreamt
of an olympic ice skating career before it got to be
all about the jumping--thanks dick
button, you asshole, thanks for starting
the modern period in which
everything has turned
to shit before our very
eyes and there's nothing to
stop monstrous Fox News and and equally monstrous Nancy
Pelosi--old-school mobbed-up Baltimore
pols who were, back then, at least employing
the doorbell ringers, whereas
rahm emanuel reports to corporate
and let the fucking ringers fuck
themselves, if they can, i'll have 2
tacos al pastor, no salsa, por favor

the hockey player painted classically
lurid paperback book covers, in 1962,
just before sis kicked him out for
dallying--artists and models

his later fame, not to mention
fortune, devastated the 5
kids when he died, barely recovering these
many years later
the poet says
old friends, bookends

copyright © 2016 by patrick o'hayer--

Like